


The Rule of Three

by mylifeisloki



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 02:55:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4205304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylifeisloki/pseuds/mylifeisloki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loving two people at once doesn't have to be a bad thing. Sometimes there's an infinitely more pleasant solution, as Steve finds out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Rule of Three

**Author's Note:**

> So, the prompt was for a love triangle, but I saw Natasha loving both Steve and Bucky as an opportunity for... something a little less traditional. Hope you like it!

“I really tried to tell you earlier, Steve. I’m sorry.”

She _tried_ to tell him earlier. The way Natasha was speaking, it was like she’d sat him down and hadn’t been able to get it out, but Steve couldn’t remember anything like that. She had been given _plenty_ of opportunities to let him know that she and Bucky—or James, as she kept saying—had a past.

“Do you still love him?”

Natasha’s hesitation was enough of an answer. Steve wondered if she just spent all her time with him, all the time in the last six months they’d spent together, wishing she were off with Bucky. He wondered if he was a terrible person for wishing that just once, he’d be able to be with someone who didn’t also consider his best friend an option. Bucky had only come back to them a little over four months ago, but God… she could have told him _ages_ ago, back when she realized he was the one involved in the attack against Fury. But she hadn’t. She’d told him that ghost story about the Winter Soldier without once mentioning that she knew him in a personal sense.

“Steve,” she said quietly. “Please don’t over-think this. Just because we have a past doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you now.”

Steve shook his head, eyes on the floor, hand rubbing idly at his temple. “You love him,” he forced out. “You _love_ him.” He raised his eyes to her and frowned. “You didn’t even tell me you loved me until I almost died on the field again, after I’d already said it to you weeks before like a fucking idiot--”

Natasha looked away, a sure sign that she didn’t know how to handle this.

Taking a deep breath, Steve just shook his head again.

“When we were fighting him,” she said eventually. “You said that even when you had nothing, you had Bucky. It was the same for me, Steve. I had nothing. I knew no one. James was so _kind_ to me, even when he was training me how to kill. He used to call me his little ballerina. I'd never been anyone's anything, not anything that really mattered..”

Steve felt like he was going to be sick. It was like actually losing her to Bucky, though she hadn’t quite said she was leaving him... Not yet, anyway. It all made sense now- the way Bucky immediately took to Natasha, the way he caught Bucky staring sometimes, the way Bucky had gone after Natasha on the bridge, not him. And Steve had been stupid enough to attribute all that attention paid to Natasha to a sliver of Bucky's personality slipping out. He'd always been a sucker for a pretty face.

Because Natasha knew him well enough to know when he was thinking way too much, she moved closer and sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of him, reaching out to slide her hands onto his knees. "I love you," she told him. "But I love him too. I need you to understand that."

He didn't. It wasn't the same as him loving Peggy and loving Natasha too. It wasn't the same, and he felt like this was going to build a wall between him and Bucky too, which meant that when Natasha left him, he would lose both of them.

“Why are you telling me this?” He asked after a long pause. “Why now?”

She hesitated again, pulled her hands back to fold them in her lap, and Steve did what he could to steel himself for whatever would come out of her mouth next. “I think those memories are coming back to him,” she said quietly. “He kissed me earlier today.”

Now, Steve couldn't blame Bucky for going with an instinct. The guy was so lost and confused as it was- how could he ask Natasha to deny him something that would give him comfort? Well, because she was _his_ girlfriend, not Bucky's! But beyond that, the implication here was that Natasha willingly kissed back, probably hadn't corrected him or pushed him away. She wanted the kiss, or at the very least didn't mind it.

“What do you expect me to do?”

Natasha shook her head a little like she didn't quite know, but Steve knew she'd answer anyway. She was always very clear on what she wanted from him, so this shouldn't be any different. But because she wasn't sure, Steve jumped in and kept talking, letting out a little of the pent up frustration settling in his chest.

“Do you want to be with him? Do you want me to just... pretend I don't know if you wind up going to him sometimes instead of me? Tell me what you think I should do here, Nat, because all I can think of doing is either crying or punching something and I don't want to do either.”

It still took her a few moments of solid eye contact before she actually answered. “I want you both,” she said slowly. “It's possible, you know. To have three people in a relationship with one another. And you love him, Steve. Probably as much as you love me, if not more.”

Steve opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again, then opened it... What the hell was he supposed to say to that? Pressing his lips together, Steve lowered his head for a moment to just think about it. She wanted to be with both of them. What would that even mean? Threesomes whenever they decided to have sex? Would she go out on dates with him sometimes and dates with Bucky other times? What if they decided to get married? She couldn't marry both of them. It felt like this would just turn into a competition for who she would spend more time with, who she would love more.

“No,” he rasped after some time. “No, I can't do that. I'm sorry.” He stood up at that, anxiously rubbing at the back of his neck. “I... I think it's just better if you go.” And God, did it hurt to say that. Steve's jaw clenched to an uncomfortable point and he knew his eyes were watering because he thought... He thought he'd found in Natasha the partner he'd spend the rest of his life with.

“Steve--”

The soldier shook his head and held up a hand, averting his eyes for a moment so she couldn't see how upset he was, so he had a chance to gather himself before speaking again. “I think he's lost enough, don't you?” He reasoned, barely holding onto himself at this point. “You love him. Just.. take care of him, okay?” Bucky would hardly know any better. Natasha would feel like home to him and Steve would have to see them together when the time came because the last thing he wanted to do was upset his friend.

He left before he could make a bigger ass of himself, darting off to seek out Thor and pretend everything was okay while they watched a movie together. Thor had the decency not to mention the way the light from the television made very visible the tears on Steve's cheeks, but he did reach out and lay a strong arm around the other man's shoulders- a touch Steve leaned into without even thinking about it.

When the movie ended, neither of them moved and Steve finally spoke up after another five minutes of total silence. “I broke up with Natasha,” he confessed quietly. Thor looked almost more broken than he did for a moment, and pulled his friend into an embrace, rubbing at his back to offer some comfort.

“I am sorry to hear that,” he said consolingly. “Is there no way to repair this?”

Steve shook his head, clinging to this embrace like a starving man to a bit of bread. “She's in love with Bucky,” he said numbly. “She loves Bucky. They were together, a long time ago...”

And she still loved him. She wanted them both, but Steve wasn't going to be the thing that stood in the way of Bucky's happiness, or Natasha's. Because if she had been happy with just him, she wouldn't have suggested the three of them being together.

When he returned to his suite later that night, every little thing that he'd come to associate with the fact that Natasha spent most nights with him was gone. Her hairbrush, her makeup, her toothbrush... It was all gone. All he found was his t-shirt folded up on the bed- the t-shirt she used to wear to sleep when she wore anything at all. It still smelled like her.

With an incredible amount of luck and what he suspected was a mutual desire to not see each other, Steve managed to avoid both Natasha and Bucky for a total of four days. On the fifth morning, he woke up to three hard knocks on his door and instinctively knew it was Bucky-- only metal hands knocked like that. And only Bucky would be knocking on his bedroom door at 4:30 in the morning.

“Buck,” he groaned when he opened the door, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. “What's wrong?”

His friend was in his room and sitting on his bed before Steve could do anything about it. “I had another nightmare,” he answered. “And I wanted you.”

In some ways, Bucky was like a child. He needed comfort and reassurance at all times, but he was also very sensitive in that he wanted who he wanted and no one else would do. Steve, who was too drowsy to actually come to the conclusion that it hurt to see Bucky there when he knew Natasha was probably staying with him, sat down beside his friend and offered his hand, which was taken immediately.

“Tell me about it.”

Bucky launched into this detailed retelling of his latest nightmare- flashes of faces he didn't recognize to being tied down in a lab to the vague memories of slinging an arm around him before the war. He spoke with such frenzy, his eyes growing wide as he accounted for each little thing he'd seen, and Steve listened patiently as he always did. When it seemed Bucky was through, Steve reached up to touch his hair reassuringly and smiled a little bit.

“You wanna stay here?”

There was almost a little hesitation, but Bucky nodded and Steve laid down, allowing his friend to curl up beside him, Bucky's head on his chest, their fingers still intertwined. There wasn't any thought there. It was totally natural, and Steve offered it without question because he would do anything to help his friend.

But when he woke up another two hours later with a sleeping Bucky draped over him, everything he'd been desperately avoiding for the past four days hit him like a train. Why wasn't Bucky with Natasha? Why had he come to Steve instead? Seeing his friend was kind of painful when he knew that he'd just given up someone who was arguably the love of his life to make Bucky happy.

A few seconds later, Bucky was peering up at him and sheepishly moving away. “Thanks,” he offered. “For letting me stay here. It helped.”

Steve couldn't fault him for that. It had always helped them sleep. “Don't worry about it,” he said easily, reaching out to clap his hand over Bucky's knee. “You know I'm always here for you.”

They were interrupted by a quiet knock and Steve knew it was Natasha. Despite urges to run, he called for her to come in and a second later, he had both people he hadn't wanted to see standing in front of him. “James, I've told you not to just wander off during the night,” she chastised gently. “You can tell me when you're going to see Steve.”

Bucky nodded slowly. “I'm sorry,” he said sincerely. “I'll tell you next time, I promise.”

Natasha's eyes flashed to Steve and he offered a small, sad smile. “Hey, Nat,” he greeted. “Doing okay?”

To her credit, her features didn't shift at all-- but Steve knew that meant she was hiding something, keeping it all bottled up. “I'm doing just fine, soldier,” she answered. “How about you?”

“Good. I'm good.” No, he wasn't. God, what a lie. And it was a bad lie too, because Steve wasn't a good liar and Natasha could see right through him.

“Steve---“

He looked up to meet her gaze and patiently raised his eyebrows expectantly, bracing himself for whatever it was she might say to him. But Natasha bailed, pressing her lips together and shaking her head. Right.

“Well,” he said, clearing his throat. “If you two don’t mind, I have a run and a long shower in my immediate future… so.”

“Can I come?”

The poor guy looked so eager that Steve had trouble actually looking him in the eye. How was he supposed to refuse? Then again, how was he supposed to just get over the fact that Natasha had willingly left him for his best friend? How was he supposed to pretend that he was okay with this when Bucky knew him better than anyone, even if he didn’t know that sometimes?

“Uh, sure,” he wound up answering anyway- because it was Bucky. “Of course. Go get changed and meet me by the elevator.”

Bucky nodded and headed off straight away, making his way out of the room to dress himself appropriately. Meanwhile, Steve tugged his t-shirt off and moved to do the same, pulling out sweatpants and a clean shirt as well- but Natasha hadn’t left yet. He turned to face her, trying to remain calm rather than let her see how upset he was. “Something wrong?”

Natasha’s eyes narrowed just enough for him to see it, just enough to let him know that she was sizing him up. Natasha knew a lie better than anyone and there was a part of Steve that wanted her to see how she’d hurt him, but another part that wanted to keep his pride intact. “No,” she answered after several moments. “No, I guess not.”

With that, she turned to leave and Steve contemplated pulling her back for a moment. He thought about asking her why she’d let him fall for her the way she had when her heart wasn’t really set on him. He thought about asking her where he’d gone wrong. But he knew, of course, that she’d loved Bucky long before she’d even known who Steve Rogers was.

Luckily, their run went off without a hitch and both soldiers returned feeling a lot better about that day’s outlook. Steve made his way into the shower almost immediately and Bucky did the same, which meant that they came out at about the same time. And because they shared a common enemy in their nearly supersonic metabolisms, they met up in the kitchen with breakfast on their minds. What they found was enough to throw Steve off and make him immediately suspicious, but Bucky didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation.

Sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea between her hands was a severe looking Natasha, her eyes focused on them the moment they entered. “Hello, boys,” she greeted. “Did you have a nice run?”

“Yeah, we did,” Bucky answered, seemingly unaware of the implications of this supposedly innocent interaction with Natasha. “I smell bacon. Did you make bacon?”

The corners of her lips tilted up and Steve only tensed more. Natasha cooked? Was hell freezing over? “I did,” she answered. “There are two plates keeping warm in the oven.”

Bucky padded over and removed them, setting both down at the table and sitting down before Steve had even convinced himself to move closer. “What’s the matter, Steve?” Bucky ventured, his mouth already full of scrambled eggs. “It’s good, I swear.”

Steve swallowed and sat down, if only because he didn’t want to upset his friend. He wound up across from Natasha and eyed his plate with equal amounts of hunger and suspicion- but he did begin to eat after a moment. His stomach was growling for it.

Everything was quiet and mostly comfortable for about five minutes before Natasha spoke up. Steve noticed that she’d given them enough time to eat and wondered if there was some kind of poison in the food (that only she had the antidote to, which they wouldn’t get unless they did whatever she wanted them to).

“The three of us need to have a talk,” she said calmly, sitting back with her tea in hand. Both pairs of eyes were on her in a moment- one narrowing, one looking worried. “I don’t think it’s any secret that I care about both of you. If that’s coming as a surprise to you, then you’re not using your brain enough.”

Steve huffed and sat back, all of a sudden very interested in the now tepid coffee sitting beside his plate. Natasha was silent for a moment and he could feel her eyes boring right into his skull. “It’s also no surprise that you both care about me,” she continued.

Bucky jumped right in and nodded. After a moment, Steve begrudgingly did the same.

Natasha nodded once like she had only been looking for confirmation before continuing on. “Bucky, do you care about Steve the same way you care about me?”

Steve rolled his eyes, clearly expecting Bucky to say no and let that be that, but Bucky frowned and thought it over for a while, his brow creasing in contemplation. “I love you,” he said slowly, peering back up at Natasha for a moment before his gaze swung right over to Steve. “And I love you, so…”

“Buck, she means romantic love,” Steve interjected.

Again, Bucky frowned, but he didn’t take the time to think it over. He just answered, his voice more secure and even than Steve could remember it sounding in quite some time. “I know what she meant,” he said defensively, his cheeks flushing with the implication of his little confession. “I love both of you. Barely had to think about it and you said to go with my instinct, Stevie. I’m just listening to you.”

Steve swallowed again, brows knitting together as he searched Bucky’s eyes for some kind of misunderstanding. “This is crazy,” he said, shaking his head and sitting back. All of a sudden, he felt like he’d wandered into a weird dream- probably Tony’s dream. “You guys have got to be kidding me.”

Because both Natasha and Bucky were looking at him expectantly, like they were just waiting for him to work out the truth and confess it to them. Well, it wasn’t that easy. Did he love Bucky? Sure, of course. But could he see himself in a _relationship_ with Bucky? That was another story.

Could he?

Thinking back, he remembered how many dinners were spent with just the two of them, how they spent so much time together they might as well have been considered a couple, how the only real people that got between them were the girls Bucky used to date… He thought about sharing a bed in the harsh winters when Bucky was the only thing keeping him warm and safe at night. Steve turned his eyes up to Bucky again and considered him. He wondered if perhaps the love he’d had for Bucky since they were kids had morphed into something so normal that it took on many different forms.

“Look, you know I love you,” he blurted out, cracking under the pressure. “C’mon, Buck. You were all I had for a really long time. I mean, it’s impossible to be that close to someone and not love them, but—“

“But what?” Natasha’s interruption was short and sweet, but there was a weight to her words that made Steve very aware of how serious she was here. “It doesn’t have to be physical, Steve. If you’re worried about questioning your sexuality—“

“That’s not what it is!” Steve cringed as soon as he raised his voice, slowly turning his eyes to Bucky, who had ducked down a little bit like he always did when someone was suddenly shouting. “Sorry, Buck,” he sighed, reaching out to touch his hand. “But that’s not what it is, Nat. It’s not that simple.”

They bickered back and forth for a few moments, Natasha pointing out that maybe if Steve wasn’t so godddamn repressed, he might be open to this and Steve pointing out that sometimes it was okay to just be happy with one person—and to be honest, they were getting to Bucky in the worst way.

“Stop!”

Both Natasha and Steve immediately shut up, their lips pressing together while they turned to their friend, who’s eyes were darting angrily between them. Eventually, his gaze landed on Steve and the blond could practically see the cogs turning in Bucky’s mind as he figured out what he could do to make this better. What he actually did came as something of a surprise, though Steve supposed he should have seen it coming.

“Kiss me.”

Steve had a mind to say no- just refuse and get out of there before he wound up in a situation that ruined everything for all of them. Because how awkward would it be when they realized they loved each other, but not him? Not in the same way, at least. But there was a part of him that really wanted to know for sure if he felt for Bucky what Natasha thought he did. How stupid was he, to not realize this kind of thing before?

Still, he hesitated a bit too long and Bucky bit his lower lip, clearly unsure of himself and preparing for rejection. Steve couldn’t let that happen. Standing up, he offered Bucky his hand and pulled the other man up to stand in front of him. There was still some hesitation, but Steve knew it was out of fear on his part, not disgust or doubt about the way he felt. Natasha was right and he didn’t want to admit it.

Stepping closer, Steve reached out to place his hands on Bucky’s waist- right where a lover would, not even close to the way they used to stand in pictures with Steve’s arm around his back. “We can’t come back from this, Buck,” he said quietly. “You know that, right? It’ll never be the same.”

“I know,” he answered. Steve wondered when Bucky’s lips had gotten so pink and when it was that his eyes had grown so _blue_. They were standing close enough that Steve could feel Bucky’s breath against his lips and the sensation was enough to drive him onward. If _that_ felt as exciting as it did, he couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like when their lips touched.

When they finally did, Steve couldn’t understand how he’d ever gone without this particular level of their relationship. Bucky’s full lower lip settled between his own and Steve was lost to it, his hands moving to flatten out on Bucky’s lower back while his friend—his friend?—slid his arms up to wrap around the blond’s neck. For a while there, neither of them could think of anything else, wrapped up in their own little world.

But they parted when someone cleared their throat and both men turned to find Natasha giving them an amused smile- amused, but cautious. Steve realized just then how much of a risk she’d taken by introducing them to one another this way. There was a chance that they might take each other and leave her alone, but that wasn’t what Steve wanted. No, he loved both of them and they loved him and they loved one another. Why did they have to question any of that?

And so, the so-called pure hearted and innocent Captain Steve Rogers found himself rethinking Natasha’s original suggestion. She wanted both of them. There was no real reason why she couldn’t _have_ both of them, as long as they could have her and one another as well. It all made sense in his head, even if he was worried it wouldn't remain that simple.

Pulling away from Bucky a little bit, he held his hand out to Natasha and pulled her up with them, immediately sealing their lips together. He’d missed it- the feeling of Natasha’s body pressed against his and her hands gripping his shirt while she kissed him back. But there was a new element. Now he had arms winding around his waist from behind as well, Bucky’s lips finding the back of his shoulder. He felt very loved in that moment, taken care of in a way he hadn’t before. Strange.

The biggest surprise came a moment later, when Natasha broke their kiss and leaned past him to meet Bucky’s lips instead. Steve watched them and for some reason, he felt no panic at all. This was okay. It felt good, even, to know that they all loved one another. And the realization that Natasha was choosing  _both_ of them instead of one or the other was just the kind of thing Natasha did. She made her own way.

“I don’t know about you boys, but I’m very interested in moving this back to the bedroom,” Natasha murmured, one hand on Steve’s chest and the other on Bucky’s cheek. “Shall we?”

Both soldiers nodded eagerly and Natasha smirked, taking them each by the hand and leading them towards Steve’s bedroom because his bed was the biggest. Steve and Bucky exchanged a look and smiled widely, too excited about this to bother with being shy or sheepish about it. Once the door was locked behind them, Natasha turned and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to need you two to strip,” she said, her lips quirking up in barely concealed amusement.

That wasn’t a hard task for either of them, but… well, they weren’t stupid. They knew Natasha was seriously into watching them together, evidenced especially by the fact that she sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs, readying herself for the show. Fine. They’d give her one.

Steve started first, tugging his t-shirt off and turning to kiss Bucky again. It was slow and filthy, their lips parting immediately to deepen it while Steve’s hands began tugging his friend’s shirt off as well. Bare from the waist up and clearly into new territory, Bucky’s hands wandered over Steve’s arms, sliding over his biceps and slipping down to feel the thick muscles on his back. At the same time, Steve ducked down to mouth over Bucky’s neck, his hands cheekily sliding from the other man’s hips to his ass and squeezing hard enough to earn a startled gasp.

A second later they were pulling at each other’s jeans, quickly unbuttoning them and shoving them down like they just couldn’t wait any longer. Of course, Steve’s eyes flitted towards Natasha when he met Bucky’s lips again, taking more than a little pleasure in the fact that she was watching them with a heated gaze, her thighs tightened to relieve some pressure, no doubt. While Bucky clumsily stepped out of the jeans and boxers pooled around his ankles, Steve stepped out of his own and pressed the other man against the wall, giving Natasha a side view as he rocked their hips together, Bucky’s steel grip digging into his shoulder while Steve’s fingers left bruises on his friend’s hip.

“Steve… _Steve,_ I can’t—“

The blond picked his head up from where he was currently sucking a bruise onto the juncture between Bucky’s neck and shoulder to really look at him. Bucky’s face was flushed, his head tilted back to rest against the wall behind him. His eyes were half lidded and glazed, pupils blown--- “You’re gorgeous,” Steve blurted out, reaching up for the side of Bucky’s neck while he kissed the other man to cut off a smart-ass retort and—

A soft moan stopped them and both men looked over to the bed to find that Natasha had grown tired of waiting for them. Already nude, she’d sprawled out and had one hand buried between her thighs, her back arched while she watched them. They had this unique opportunity here, because Steve and Bucky knew each other like the backs of their hands. They didn’t really need to speak to communicate what they were thinking… and Natasha was at their mercy. They shared one look, one raised eyebrow from the troublemaker of the two, and they were approaching the bed a moment later, a predatory look in their eyes.

Natasha grinned and removed her hand, allowing Steve to lean down and kiss her on the mouth while Bucky left a trail of warm kisses up the length of her torso, even going so far as to suck one pert nipple between his lips for a moment. Just as Steve pulled away, Bucky replaced him. The ex-assassin’s kisses were soft and wanting, pulling Natasha into a slow burn that contrasted perfectly with Steve’s nearly overwhelmingly passionate ministrations.

They left her dazed and smiling, but they weren’t nearly through with her yet. Steve took hold of Natasha’s hips and flipped her over, tugging her ass into the air while Bucky crawled up to sit near the pillows. Getting the idea, Natasha crawled up to settle herself between Bucky’s legs, taking his hard length between her lips without pause. Once Steve had been given the pleasure of watching Bucky’s metal hand gently tangle in Natasha’s curls, he leaned down and licked over the redhead’s dripping slit, earning a moan from both Natasha and Bucky.

Settling himself there, he wasted no time in tasting every inch of her, pressing his tongue against her clit and teasing her entrance with two fingers- but never giving her so much that she was able to come from it. That is, until he heard the way Bucky was moaning, the wet sounds coming from the woman between his legs, the way he was gripping the sheets beside her. She was going to make Bucky come if he didn't do something about -and it was just too early for him to come yet. Instead, Steve slid his arms under Natasha’s thighs and hoisted her up, balancing her legs over his shoulders while he buried his face between them.

With Natasha balancing most of her weight on her elbows, she had very little control over her orgasm. She came with a shout having pulled off Bucky’s cock just a moment before, and tremors wracked her body from head to toe, even as Steve lowered her to the bed. Turning over, she curled up a little bit and shivered, giving Steve a death glare even as he grinned down at her. “Fuck you and your mouth,” she mumbled, much to his amusement.

Steve laughed as he fell to the bed beside Bucky, who was still hard as a rock and watching them with this fond smile on his face- a smile that faded into a long moan as Steve’s hand wrapped around him. “Is this what you want?” He asked, his lips brushing along Bucky’s neck.

At first he nodded, but then two very blue eyes met Steve’s and there was something else there. “Buck, tell me,” he urged. “I want to give you what you want.”

“I want you,” he answered after a moment, sliding his hand up from Steve’s stomach to his chest, then up to his neck. “To fuck me, Stevie.”

Steve could feel his cheeks flushing and his cock giving a little, involuntary twitch at the thought. Swallowing thickly, he nodded and licked his lips. “Yeah, I’d—like that,” he answered, barely taking time to notice Natasha moving again- this time to procure lube from Steve’s bedside table.

“You know, James has quite the mouth on him too,” she commented, earning a smile from Bucky as he got the idea and assumed the position she’d been in before, tugging Steve down a little while he got settled. Steve hardly had time to readjust before Bucky was nuzzling into the crease of his thigh, breath ghosting over the hard flesh of his cock while two hands- one hot, one cold- slid up his thighs to spread them a bit more. He let out a low groan and tipped his head back while Bucky’s lips slid over him, but soon he was forcing it back up again to watch.

At the same time, Natasha spread lube over her fingers and began preparing Bucky, pressing two fingers into him right away and spreading them apart. He groaned and the vibrations went straight up Steve’s spine, pulling a moan from him as well. Swearing out loud, Steve let his hand wander down to Bucky’s head, brushing his hair out of the way and lightly holding it there, even tugging just a little bit to urge him on. But the thing he was really focused on was how eagerly Bucky pressed back against Natasha, his legs spread wide and his back arched to facilitate her.

“You should see how eager he is from back here,” she murmured, twisting her wrist and pressing against Bucky’s prostate hard enough to make him pause, pulling his mouth off in favor of whimpering as he rolled his hips back for more. "Разве не ты, Джеймс?”

Bucky nodded against Steve’s thigh, his lips parted as he let out low moans every once in a while. “пожалуйста,” he murmured eventually- a word that even Steve understood. That was all he needed to say.

Catching Natasha’s eye, Steve slid out from under Bucky and they switched places, but not before Natasha had fitted him with a condom she pulled out of nowhere. Seconds later, Natasha was sitting in front of the assassin with her legs spread. But for now, all Bucky did was let his head rest on her shoulder while she combed her fingers through his hair. As soon as Steve took his position behind Bucky, he understood what Natasha meant. There was _no_ hesitation or shame in the way Bucky held himself, knees spread as far as he could get them and still retain his balance, hole twitching and leaking the lube Natasha had used to open him up. It was a sight Steve hoped to see far more often after this.

Stroking himself a few times to spread a bit more lubrication, Steve pressed forward and let out a labored breath the moment he felt just how tight Bucky was for him. Sliding past the first ring of muscle was an experience, the fat head of his cock settling inside Bucky and leaving them both panting already. Steve took two slow breaths before pushing forward, eventually sheathing himself entirely inside his friend and bowing forward over him while they adjusted. It was an unbelievable feeling- tight and hot and Bucky was already squirming against him, seeking out more.

Sitting back a bit, Steve met Natasha’s eyes over Bucky and there was just _something_ about knowing she was there too. It felt so fucking intense, having her watch him unabashedly, her hands still idly stroking Bucky’s hair. Even as Steve began to move, developing the deep, all-encompassing rhythm he knew Bucky would love, she kept her eyes on him. He wondered when he’d become such a shameless exhibitionist, when it had become so exciting for him to know that she was watching his muscles jump with every movement of his hips.

Steve’s hands slid over Bucky’s ass to spread him open some more and he chuckled breathlessly when he earned a surprised, guttural groan from the man between them. It was just his instinct to want to take care of Bucky now, just like Bucky had taken care of him and then some. And he supposed it was in Natasha’s nature too. They really, really wanted him to feel happy and loved and respected, above all else.

And as it turned out, it didn’t take words for him to communicate with Natasha either. She caught his eye again and cocked her head to the side, getting a nod in return. Steve’s thrusts slowed and he pulled out, lying back while he urged Bucky to turn around and straddle him. He did, of course, and positioned himself over Steve’s throbbing length before evenly sliding down to take him in. Steve moaned and his hands flew right to Bucky’s hips as the other man began to grind down against him.

“Fuck,” he gasped in surprise, wide eyes watching as Bucky fervently rocked his hips down, hardly even letting their bodies separate. It was apparently just what he needed, though, as his back arched and his head snapped back, lips parted in ecstasy. Steve thought that was it, that he’d get to come inside Bucky and watch him as he spilled over the edge—but that wasn’t all. Apparently Natasha had something else in mind.

Bucky had already allowed his hand to wander to his own cock, stroking hard and fast as he continued to move, but Natasha wanted to take care of him. She brushed his hands away, leaving him to lean back and brace himself on Steve’s thighs, fingers digging bruises into the muscle there. The sight was indescribable, with Natasha’s stroking Bucky even as the former assassin rocked desperately down against Steve’s cock.

It didn’t take him long after that to come, spilling long strands of white over Natasha’s hand and, once she’d let go, over Steve’s stomach as well. A shivering, twitching Bucky came crashing down onto Steve’s chest, his breathing deep and uneven as evidenced by the movements of his chest. “Wow,” he sighed, shifting a little bit so Steve slipped out of him- still hard and weeping with how close he was to his own release.

Natasha chuckled and patted Bucky’s shoulder, urging him off. “My turn,” she said cheekily, only grinning a little more when Bucky slid off of Steve and landed on his back nearby, thoroughly sated. Straddling her partner’s waist, Natasha wasted no time at all before ripping off the condom, positioning herself, and sliding down so he filled her like he had so many times before, just perfectly.

She started to move, but Steve had already had enough of being passive. A second later, he’d flipped them over and urged Natasha to rest her head on Bucky’s arm as he fucked her, his thrusts just as deep and rough as they had been with Bucky. Natasha could take it, and she liked it that way. If the way she moaned for him wasn’t enough to cement that fact in his mind, the way she gripped his hair when she could reach it did the trick.

With Natasha’s nails digging into his scalp and her legs moving to wrap tightly around hi waist, Steve was hardly in the position to notice what Bucky was doing. Leaving his arm behind Natasha’s head, he’d pushed himself up to lay beside her and slid his metal hand down until two fingers were pressing up against her clit. Steve could feel him too, just enough every time he buried himself inside Natasha. And she was _gone_.

Natasha couldn’t seem to articulate anything, her body working hard and then some to press back into Steve’s thrusts and up into the merciless ministrations from Bucky’s metal fingers. He honestly felt for her, so ardently trying to get herself off and look like she had any control over the situation whatsoever, regardless of the strength of her companions.

At some point, Natasha’s lips parted in a broken shout and she gushed between them, soaking Bucky’s hand and Steve’s cock alike. After that, it was only moments before Steve came as well, pulsing and spilling inside her while he leaned down to press sloppy kisses to her lips,  her hands sliding limply out of his hair. For several long moments, they remained just like that, with Steve leaning half his weight on top of Natasha, Bucky’s presence like a warm blanket beside them, Natasha’s breathing evening everyone out.

When they finally got around to moving, Steve leaned down to kiss Natasha on the lips, and then did the same to Bucky. With that, he moved away and padded into the bathroom, retrieving a damp rag to clean everyone up- the evidence of Bucky’s release on his own stomach,  and the wetness on Natasha’s thighs. Disposing of that in the hamper, he returned to bed and laid down, welcoming Natasha on one side of him, her head on his chest, and Bucky on the other, his nose buried in the crook of Steve’s neck.

This was what she meant when she’d suggested it. Natasha had known before Steve that he loved Bucky this way, otherwise it wouldn’t have felt so right. As he leaned down to kiss Natasha’s hair, accepting Bucky’s fingers threaded through his own at the same time, he wondered what it would have been like had they just left him being his stubborn self.

“I love you both,” he said suddenly, smiling even as his eyes closed once Natasha had pulled the sheet up to cover them.

He could feel Natasha smiling against his skin and somehow he knew they were grinning at one another- a job well done, as Bucky might say. “We love you too,” she murmured, hooking her leg over Steve’s hip.

Things were quiet for a while, before Natasha spoke up again. “You know, since we’re all out in the open now,” she said easily. “I wouldn’t mind spending an evening with both of you at the same time, if you know what I mean.”

Steve’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment, but when Natasha looked up at him with a suggestive grin, he got it. He got it, and his whole face turned beet red, the tops of his ears burning. “Oh,” he answered lamely. “Wow.”

Bucky laughed and Steve swatted his ass in response, starting to really love the little gasps he could pull from the other man. “I think that can be arranged,” he said, meeting Natasha’s gaze again. “You sure you can handle it?”

The unimpressed look Natasha gave him was just priceless, and she leaned up to nip at his jaw in protest. “I can handle it,” she said firmly. “Just you wait and see.”

“I’m lookin’ forward to that,” Bucky mumbled against Steve’s shoulder, half asleep already. His eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted, his hand moving to rest just below Steve’s chest like when they were younger. In fact, it was such a reminder that Steve found himself smiling rather sadly. Bucky had been through so much and he didn’t even remember some of the little things they did, like curl up together in the wintertime when Steve was likely to get sick, Bucky’s hand on his chest to make sure he kept breathing.

Natasha followed suit, leaning up for a moment to peck Steve on the lips before settling her head on his chest and her arm possessively around his waist. Steve felt really whole, somehow. He felt safe and loved and with the two people he loved the most on either side of him, both sleeping contently, he felt _right_. Maybe this was what Natasha had intended all along and he just couldn’t see it that way without a more physical demonstration.

Either way, he was grateful that Natasha understood him better than he understood himself sometimes. He owed her for this. With thoughts of how exactly he might be able to make all the nasty things he’d said up to her, Steve drifted to sleep with his arms around his lovers and rested peacefully, not a nightmare in sight.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


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